Yesterday, about 36 Clifsters ditched the office to spend the day on a construction site in East Oakland building homes with Habitat for Humanity.

I thought I would come prepared for the day and showed up onsite with my own personal hammer.

The site directors gave us the option to do one of three tasks—leveling dirt, installing rebar or building wood frames; I figured my trusty hammer would get most use out of hammering, so I opted for the latter.

Once we were familiarized with construction jargon, we were off—hammering, lifting, and sawing! I'm gonna give one bit of advice—when you go to work on a construction site, make sure you bring not just a hammer, but the appropriate hammer. I soon learned after struggling to nail 2x4s together, that my tool wasn't the best. Before I knew it, my trusty hammer was the brunt of all the jokes.

With all the extra effort my hammer required, by high noon my stomach was growling. Turns out I wasn't the only one. Thank goodness for Let's Be Frank Dogs who satiated all of our hunger pangs by serving up 100% grass-fed beef (and veggie) dogs with all the fixings (grilled onions and/or chile included). Divine. Over our dogs, we shared stories of our tasks, only to return to our duties and finish up under the beating East Bay sun.

If you haven't ever worked with Habitat, I highly recommend finding a site near you. You'll learn new things about yourself (and your hammer), you'll bond with your team and most importantly, you'll help build a home!

For more photos from the day, check out flickr.com!


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